195 Broadway

195 Broadway
Seen from Fulton Street and Broadway
Alternative names	American Telephone & Telegraph Company Building, Western Union Building
General information
Type	Commercial
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Address	195–207 Broadway
Town or city	Financial District, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Country	United States
Coordinates	40°42′40″N 74°00′33″W / 40.7111°N 74.0093°W / 40.7111; -74.0093
Construction started	1912
Completed	1922
Opening	1916
Owner	L&L Holding Company
Height
Tip	422 feet (129 m)
Roof	398 feet (121 m)
Technical details
Floor count	29
Lifts/elevators	30
Design and construction
Architect(s)	William Welles Bosworth
New York City Landmark
Designated	July 25, 2006[1]
Reference no.	2194[1]
Designated entity	Exterior
New York City Landmark
Designated	July 25, 2006[2]
Reference no.	2199[2]
Designated entity	First-story interior
References
[3][1][2]

195 Broadway, also known as the Telephone Building, Telegraph Building, or Western Union Building, is an early skyscraper on Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building was the longtime headquarters of AT&T Corp. and Western Union. It occupies the entire western side of Broadway from Dey to Fulton Streets.

The site of the building formerly was occupied by the Western Union Telegraph Building. The current 29-story, 422-foot-tall (129 m) building was commissioned after AT&T's 1909 acquisition of Western Union. It was constructed from 1912 to 1916 under the leadership of Theodore Newton Vail, to designs by William W. Bosworth, although one section was not completed until 1922. It was the site of one end of the first transcontinental telephone call, the first intercity Picturephone call, and the first transatlantic telephone call. Though AT&T's headquarters relocated to 550 Madison Avenue in 1984, 195 Broadway remains in use as an office building as of 2022^[update].

Bosworth's design was heavily Greek-influenced: though the facade is made of white Vermont granite, it features layers of gray granite columns in Doric and Ionic styles, as well as various Greek-inspired ornamentation. The northwestern corner of the building was designed similar to a campanile with a stepped roof, which formerly supported the Spirit of Communication statue. The Greek design carried into the large lobby, clad with marble walls and floors, and containing sculptural ornament by Paul Manship and Gaston Lachaise. The exterior and first-floor interior spaces were designated as city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2006.